Conveying mechanism and feed member therefor



May 21, 1963 H. BlEL ET AL CONVEYING MECHANISM AND FEED MEMBER THEREFORFiled Aug. 9, 1960 INVENTORS 5/ E L HA/VJ' HdEA/"IVG United StatesPatent Ofiice 3,390,481 Patented May 21, 1963 3,090,481 CONVEYINGMECHANISM AND FEED lilElvlBER TEEREFGR Hans Biel, Neulfen, Wurttemherg,and Hans Hornung, Beuren, Wurtternbcrg, Germany, assignors to HansSickinger, Bloomfield Hilts, Mich.

Filed Aug. 9, 195%), Ser. No. 48,382 Claims priority, applicationGermany Aug. 17, 195% 6 Claims. (Cl. l822l) The present inventionrelates to a conveying mechanism, and more particularly to a conveyerfor feeding stacks of sheets of paper or the like on paper processingmachines, for example, for printing, cutting, stapling, or gluing ofpaper pads, notebooks, pamphlets, books, and the like. In machines ofthis type, stacks of sheets are intermittently fed along a plate, forexample, by reciprocating levers which are driven by means of a crank orcam device.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a conveyingmechanism of the above-mentioned type and, more particularly, a feedmember for such a conveying mechanism which may be very inexpensivelyproduced and may be easily installed and replaced, and which is designedso as to operate very reliably and also to interrupt the conveyingoperation in the event of an irregularity in the operation of themachine and thereby to safeguard the machine and prevent it from beingdamaged.

An essential feature of the invention consists in providing a feedmember which by means of a slot therein may be easily fitted upon a pinor shaft which is reciprocated in a direction transverse to its axisunderneath a slotted plate supporting the stacks of paper or the like.This feed member is designed so as to be pivotable on this pin or shaftabout an axis which is disposed in a spaced relation to the center ofgravity of the feed member in such a manner that, due to its gravity,the feed member will during its conveying movement automatically pivotwithin the slot in the plate supporting the stacks of sheets to afeeding position by engaging with a stop member which reciprocates withthe pin or shaft. In this position, the feeding surface of the feedmember will engage with the rear side of a stack of paper and thus movethe same forwardly, while during the reverse movement of the pin orshaft, the rear side of the feed member which extends at an angle to thefront or feeding surface thereof will engage with the front side of thenext following stack of paper and will thereby be pivoted to ahorizontal position so as to slide rearwardly underneath that stackwithout shifting the same until it has cleared that stack and will thenby gravity pivot back to its feeding position ready for the next forwardconveying movement by the pin or shaft.

These and additional objects, features, and advantages of the presentinvention will become further apparent from the following detaileddescription, thereof, particularly when the same is read with referenceto the accompanying drawings, in which-- FIGURE 1 shows a feed memberaccording to the present invention in the feeding position together withsome of the associated elements of the conveying mechanism, as seen in across section taken along line II in FIGURE 2;

FIGURE 2 shows a top plan view of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 3 shows a view similar to FIGURE 1 but with the feed member in aposition during the reverse movement thereof; while FIGURE 4 shows adiagrammatic illustration of the entire conveying mechanism.

Referring to the drawings, the different stacks of sheets 2 lying on aslotted plate 1 are advanced intermittently in the direction shown bythe arrow 5 by one or more, preferably two feed members 3, the feedingsurface 4 of which is adapted to engage with the rear side 2:: of astack of sheets 2. The feeding movement of each feed member 3 isproduced by a pin or shaft 6 which is secured underneath plate 1 in twoadjacent rails 7. Rails 7 which are guided in their longitudinaldirection by guide members 8, as indicated in FIGURE 4, are reciprocatedto an extent depending upon the desired stroke length, for example, bymeans of a crank 9 or by an eccentric or cam. Crank 9 is connected by anarm It) to a lever 11 which is pivotable about a shaft 12 on the machineframe, not shown. Shaft 12 also pivotably supports a further lever 13which is connected to rails 7 by means of an arm 14. For adjusting theend position and the stroke length of rails 7, it is possible, forexample, to adjust the position of arm 10 on lever 11 and also the anglebetween levers 11 and 13.

As shown in FIGURE 2, plate 1 is provided above feed members 3 and rails7 with a longitudinal slot through which the feeding part of each feedmember 3 may pass upwardly and which also permits the feed members 3 tobe easily inserted and exchanged, if necessary.

Each feed member 3 is provided with a slot 16 which ermits it to befitted from above upon shaft 6 between the two rails 7. It is preventedfrom being accidentally removed from shaft 6 by the fact that slot 16 isslightly narrower than the thickness of shaft 6 and that the finger 17adjacent to and formed by slot 16 is resilient, permitting the slot toexpand when the feed member is pushed downwardly over shaft 6, so thatfinger 17 will snap back to its original position when shaft 6 islocated in the bearing aperture at the end of slot 16. In this positionfeed member 3 is easily rotatable on shaft 6.

This bearing aperture 3a of feed member 3 is disposed at a point spacedfrom the center of gravity of the feed member so that, due to itsgravity, it will tend to pivot to a position in which finger 17 engageswith a stop pin 18 which extends between rails 7 and is secured thereto.In this position, the feeding surface '4 of feed member 3 will be in thefeeding position and extend vertically to plate 1.

The other arm of feed member 3 opposite to the arm having the feedingsurface 4 thereon is provided with a weight 19 of lead or other heavymaterial.

Feed member 3 is preferably made of a plastic, for example, polyamide,into which the weight 19 is cast in.

During the reverse movement of rails 7 and shaft 6 thereon in thedirection of arrow 21, as shown in FIG- URE 3 the rear surface 20 offeed member 3 which is inclined relative to the front surface willengage against the front side 21; of the stack of sheets 2 behind it,and it will thereby be pivoted in the clockwise direction, as shown inan intermediate position in FIGURE 3 so that it can then sliderearwardly underneath this stack of sheets Without affecting theposition thereof.

In order to effect the mentioned movements of feed member 3 in a simplemanner, the feeding surface 4 and the rear surface 20 of feed member 3are disposed forwardly of shaft 6, as seen in the feeding direction.

In order to prevent any damage to the machine or to the material workedupon in the event of any irregularity in the operation of the machine,the narrow portion 22 between finger 17 and the front part of feedmember 3 and extending substantially radially from the bearing So forshaft 6 is made of a reduced solidity so that, if the feeding surface 2aencounters an excessive resistance, finger 17 will break 0E. For thesame purpose, the narrow portion 23 at the opposite side of feed member3 between the bearing 3a for shaft 6 and the outer side may also'be madeof a reduced solidity so as to break under an excessive force. Thebroken pieces of feed member 3 may then drop downwardly through thespace between rails 7 and will not interfere with the movement thereof.After the cause of the disorder of the machine has been removed, a newfeed member which according to the invention is made of a veryinexpensive material and structure, may be fitted very easily andquickly upon shaft '6.

Aside from the mentioned advantages of the feed member according to theinvention, especially those of a simple and inexpensive productionthereof, the safety ofits operation and of also insuring the safeoperation of the machine itself, and of being easily installed andreplaced, it has the further advantage that it does not require anylubrication or other servicing. Although the feed member according tothe invention has been described with particular reference to paperprocessing machines, it will be evident that it may also be applied inthe same or a similar form to other kinds of machines to carry outconveying operations.

Although our invention has been illustrated and described with referenceto the preferred embodiments thereof, we wish it understood that it isin no way limited to the details of such embodiments, but is capable ofnumerous modifications within the scope of the appended claims.

Having thus fully disclosed our invention, what we claim is:

1. In a conveying mechanism for feeding objects intermittently along asurface and having reciprocating means extending underneath saidsurface, at least one pivot secured to said reciprocating means andhaving an axis extending transversely to the direction of movement ofsaid means, at least one feed member having a bore and two armsperpendicular to and on opposite sides of said bore, one of said armshaving a feeding surface, a slot formed in said other arm and extendingfrom the outer edge of the lower side of said other arm to said bore ina direction such as to permit said feed member to be fitted in adownward direction for mounting said feed member with said bore oversaid pivot, a stop member fixed to and movable with said reciprocatingmeans and extending outwardly therefrom, said feed member being adaptedto engage said stop member when said feed member is in said feedingposition, said stop member then being adapted to prevent said feedmember from pivoting under the influence of pressure exerted by saidobjects to be fed upon said feed member, and a weight carried by theother arm of said feed member greater than the weight of said first armwith the feeding surface thereon, said weight tending to turn said feedmember into engagement with said stop member so as normally to maintainsaid feed member in said feeding position.

2. A conveying mechanism as defined in claim 1, in which said feedmember is made of plastic and said weight consists of a member made of amaterial having a greater specific gravity than said plastic, saidmember being embedded within said other arm.

3. A conveying mechanism as defined in claim 1, in which said feedmember has a portion of a lower solidity than the other parts of saidmember, said portion extending from said fee-d member so as to permitsaid bore to break at the area around said bore and to fall down fromsaid pivot if said feed member encounters an excessive resistance duringits conveying movement.

4. In a conveying mechanism for feeding objects intermittently along asurface and having reciprocating means extending underneath saidsurface, at least one pivot secured to said reciprocating means andhaving an axis extending transversely to the direction of movement ofsaid means, at least one feed member having a bore and two armsperpendicular to and on opposite sides of said bore,

one of said arms having a feeding surface, a slot formed in said otherarm and extending from the outer edge of the lower side of said otherarm to said bore in a direction such as to permit said feed member to befitted in a downward direction for mounting said feed member with saidbore over said pivot, the part of said other arm on one side of saidslot forming a finger, said slot having a width normally slightlysmaller than the diameter of said pivot and said bore, said finger beingresilient only to such a degree as to permit said slot to be widened bysaid pivot when said slot is placed over said pivot and said feed memberis pushed downwardly to insert said pivot into said bore.

5. A conveying mechanism as defined in claim 4, in which a part of thematerial of said feed member is of a lower degree of solidity than theother parts at least along a line extending substantially radially fromthe wall of said bearing aperture through said finger so as to permitsaid finger to break off and thereby to release said feed member fromsaid pivot if said feed member encounters an excessive resistance duringits conveying movement.

6. A conveying mechanism as defined in claim 5, in which the wall ofsaid bearing aperture opposite to said finger is also of a lower degreeof solidity than the other parts of said feed member, so that said feedmember will break completely apart and off said pivot if it encounterssaid excessive resistance.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS

1. IN A CONVEYING MECHANISM FOR FEEDING OBJECTS INTERMITTENTLY ALONG ASURFACE AND HAVING RECIPROCATING MEANS EXTENDING UNDERNEATH SAIDSURFACE, AT LEAST ONE PIVOT SECURED TO SAID RECIPROCATING MEANS ANDHAVING A BORE AND EXTENDING TRANSVERSELY TO THE DIRECTION OF MOVEMENT OFSAID MEANS, AT LEAST ONE FEED MEMBER HAVING A BORE AND TWO ARMSPERPENDICULAR TO AND ON OPPOSITE SIDES OF SAID BORE, ONE OF SAID ARMSHAVING A FEEDING SURFACE, A SLOT FORMED IN SAID OTHER ARM AND EXTENDINGFROM THE OUTER EDGE OF THE LOWER SIDE OF SAID OTHER ARM TO SAID BORE INA DIRECTION SUCH AS TO PERMIT SAID FEED MEMBER TO BE FITTED IN ADOWNWARD DIRECTION FOR MOUNTING SAID FEED MEMBER WITH SAID BORE OVERSAID PIVOT, A STOP MEMBER FIXED TO AND MOVABLE WITH SAID RECIPROCATINGMEANS AND EXTENDING OUTWARDLY THEREFROM, SAID MEMBER BEING ADAPTED TOENGAGE SAID STOP MEMBER WHEN SAID FEED MEMBER BEING ADAPTED SAID FEEDINGPOSITION, SAID STOP MEMBER THEN BEING ADAPTED TO PREVENT SAID FEEDMEMBER FROM PIVOTING UNDER THE INFLUENCE OF PRESSURE EXERTED BY SAIDOBJECTS TO BE FED UPON SAID FEED MEMBER, AND A WEIGHT CARRIED BY THEOTHER ARM OF SAID FEED MEMBER GREATER THAN THE WEIGHT OF SAID FIRST ARMWITH THE FEEDING SURFACE THEREON, SAID WEIGHT TENDING TO TURN SAID FEEDMEMBER INTO ENGAGEMENT WITH SAID STOP MEMBER SO AS NORMALLY TO MAINTAINSAID FEED MEMBER IN SAID FEEDING POSITION.